Hey, gang. Never posted in here before, but Spring Man was my preferred choice for an ARMS rep and Min Min's inclusion over him is definitely a bummer. However, I'm hoping I can bring a little bit of hope in this trying time. I've been thinking about Spring Man a fair bit these past few days and there's a few things I definitely want to discuss.
First, I know many have been saying Min Min's now the ARMS mascot and how Spring Man's irrelevant, but that's just not true. Crossover appearances don't determine everything, otherwise Tron Bonne and Zero would be the new faces of Mega Man. Not only has much of ARMS' pre-existing marketing and brand identity utilized Spring Man as the mascot, but there's a lot of subtle winks and nods to Spring Man in Min Min's presentation that makes him far more visible than the other NPCs:
- He's the first character to grab the Smash invitation.
- He has the most total screentime in the trailer (barring Min Min, obviously).
- He's front and centre in Min Min's Final Smash.
- Spring Stadium, his stage, beat out the Ramen Bowl in being the Smash ARMS stage.
- Sakurai specifically addressed the expectation that many had for him and how many view him as the protagonist of ARMS.
- He and Biff are the only other ARMS characters in the art made by the ARMS team for Min Min's inclusion.
It's very clear that the ARMS team and Nintendo want to continue using the character and having him be the character most associated with the brand. This isn't the end of Spring Man, far from it. If there's anything we've learned since the March Nintendo Direct, Nintendo likes ARMS far more than we initially thought. They really seem to think ARMS has legs (hehe) and we're basically guaranteed to see more ARMS content. ARMS 2 seems more like a when than an if right now. I'm not sure it'll will happen on Switch, but I'd be extremely surprised if a sequel doesn't come sometime in the near future. Likewise, Dark Horse Comics confirmed that their ARMS graphic novel is still in development. Unless the plot and direction of the graphic novel massively changed, Spring Man is both the protagonist of the book and the lineage of the Spring Man title looks to be a key theme. I think it has the potential to be really successful, introduce ARMS to a new audience, and grow both the brand and Spring Man.
Plus, as controversial as this may be, Spring Man missing the boat seemed to help his character in the greater culture of Smash. Now, don't get me wrong, watching him lose the invitation stings a lot. However, it's changed the way his character is perceived for the better. Going into the reveal, many saw Spring Man as the "boring option", the generic protagonist who had his spot in Smash handed to him on a silver platter. Now? Many see him as underdog, a guy who just had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's a far better position to be in. Even in the past few days, I've seen folks that were indifferent or outright hostile to Spring Man's inclusion are now open to Spring Man getting in as a redemption arc. It's very similar to what happened to Chrom after Robin's reveal six years ago, and that was so good at recasting him to the point where he got in thanks to fan requests.
So, how are his chances for the next Smash game? Honestly, if things play out how they look like they're going to play out, pretty good! Series that are active and have a large cast of characters seem to be the first in line to get additional reps in future Smash games, so that bodes well given both ARMS large cast and bright-looking future. Plus, another ARMS character could be a good use of development, as they can use Min Min's mechanics as a base. It's not quite as easy as adding an echo, but it's easier than adding a new character completely from scratch. His biggest roadblock is the other character that Sakurai considered for Min Min's spot, Ninjara. While Sakurai seems to like Ninjara, Spring Man has the advantage of being more pivotal to the brand and being Yabuki's other favourite character (which is extremely good, given that's the entire reason Min Min got the heads up in the first place. He's not a shoe-in and he does have minor conditions to overcome, but he's got more than a fighting shot.
So, as dark as things seem now, I really think some light is coming in the future. While it sucks to lose, part of going "boi-oi-oi-oing!" is being able to bounce back. This isn't the end, not by a long shot.